


Hawkeye

by Skyepilot



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers - Freeform, Coulson Lives, F/M, Fall of SHIELD, Friendship, Post CATWS, Post-Traumatic Stress, Pre Avengers AOU, Secrets, Shared Loki hatred, Tasha - Freeform, Triplett, declarations, recovering, silly fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-10
Updated: 2014-08-10
Packaged: 2018-02-12 14:23:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2113245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skyepilot/pseuds/Skyepilot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clint finds out Coulson is alive after he sends Triplett to spy on the Avengers.  Also explaining where Clint has been this whole time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hawkeye

"Oh, no, this is _exactly_ the way I wanted to find out."

"You're not mad at Fury, or that I sent an agent to spy on your operations, you're..."

"No, I'm going to be mad about those things later," he crossed his arms and stared back at Phil Coulson, just standing there in front of him in the flesh.

"Okay."

They were in the command center of the Playground, one of Fury's secret bases, people bustling about rebuilding something that Clint had watched go down in flames on the television several months ago.

But then, he was working for Stark now. He'd left SHIELD after the Battle of New York and had tried to find himself again. The alien had gotten inside his head and he was trying to put the pieces back together and keep from drowning in the bottom of a bottle. Stop thinking about the fact that he killed part of his own team, that he attacked his own.

Then Tasha had shown up and said Fury had one last job for him.

"You were alive, you could've called, you could've sent a note."

Clint put on a happy face as an attractive young woman walked up and handed Coulson a tablet.

"Hi," she said, eyeing him.  Examining him, really.

"I'm sorry, we haven't met," he said, extending his hand.

"Skye," she introduced herself.

"Hawkeye," he answered, shaking her hand.

Coulson looked up from the tablet and smirked.

"Tony's idea, he likes to go big, you know that," said Clint.

"It's a code name, not a first name," he said shaking his head. "His name is Clint Barton," Coulson said to Skye. "Former agent of SHIELD."

"You were in the Battle of New York," she said. "Pretty intense. So, you two go way back, then?"

Clint exchanged a look with Coulson.

"He liked to give me orders," Clint said with a smile.

"And he liked to ignore them. Mostly," Coulson added, handing the tablet back to Skye.

"I just interpreted them differently than you.  That's all," Clint shot back.

"That all look okay, boss?" she asked.

"You know it does," he said, catching her eyes.

Clint stood there for a moment. Watching. Silence.

They were still looking at each other.

"Bye, Hawkeye," she said, waving her fingers at him as she walked off.

He wasn't even really sure that their conversation had actually ended.

"Agent Skye," he said, nodding his head at her.

Coulson just shifted a little, looked over at Clint.

"You gonna tell me about that?" Clint asked.

"Coms officer, runs the Welcome Wagon, and, _oh_ , she's my second."

"Is that all? I've known you for a long time, Coulson."

He turned towards Clint, his hands folded neatly in front of him.

"Where have you been, Clint?"

"Trailing this HYDRA guy, Strucker. We believe he has the Chitauri Sceptre."

"That's not what I'm asking and you know it."

"Trying to not fall apart, if that makes you feel better. _Sir_."

"Drop it. I'm not asking to give you a hard time. I'm asking because I'm concerned."

"Who are you and where did they put Phil Coulson?"

They both put on the tight smiley faces as Skye returned and stood there in front of them.

"Hey, I was just thinking. I'm finished with my SHIELD chores for the afternoon, and it occurred to me, _'I'm second in command'_ and it just seems like maybe you should take the afternoon off, Mr. Director, and you two could just go hang out. Catch up?"

"I've totally got this," she finished, looking at Coulson.

****

"She's been trying to get me to put this down for a week," Coulson said, lifting the beer.

"You've never enjoyed giving the orders, have you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Chain of command. You don't like being at the top, that's all."

"It's a lot of responsiblity," Coulson said, draining the rest of the beer.

Clint looked out at the little desert town and at his cheap beer poured into a frostless mug. Avengers Tower it wasn't. But then, he'd been in and out of safehouses in Europe for the last four months, and this felt like the good 'ol days. It was making him a little nostalgic.

The only thing that would make this perfect would be if Tasha were here. There's no way she'd let Coulson escape.

"Skye seems like a good person to do that with," Clint threw out.

"You're gonna keep pushing, aren't you?"

"First of all, she's just kind of really attractive, right?"

"She _is_ that."

Coulson got up and went to the counter, ordered another beer as Clint watched him. Too hot to wear the suit, he'd just worn a t-shirt and jeans and gee, whose influence might that be? Coulson in jeans. Uh huh.

"Your beer is probably warm by now," he said, putting down another mug in front of Clint.

"Yeah, I'm sipping these days."

"That great?"

"Well, when an alien takes over your mind and makes you kill your friends and attack your family and the people you love, yeah, it's a process."

"I'm sorry that happened to you," he said.

He couldn't see behind his Ray Bans, but if his voice was any indication, Coulson was getting emotional. So weird.

"If I ever get another shot at Loki," Clint started.

"You and me both."

Clint touched the condensation on the mug.

"What did they do to you, Phil?"

"They brought me back," he answered.

Clint knew him, and knew that unpleasant tone. It mean that he was looking into some unknown, at big and scary, and the Coulson he knew liked having the answers.

" _How?_ "

"Classified."

"That's just your way of saying you're not ready to talk about it. Fine. You won't mind, then, if I ask out your second, maybe she'll tell me? I mean, seeing as you're not..."

"No."

"No, yes? Or no, NO."

"The last one," he said, leaning back into his chair and drinking.

"C'mon Coulson, I've got to have something good to tell Tasha, she's going to be pissed off enough that you're alive and didn't say anything. This will soften the blow."

He watched Coulson tense up, the muscles in his jaw tightening.

"I'm in love with her, okay?"

"Figured," he grinned. "You tell her? You tell Captain Rogers you've moved on?"

"This is why I never share anything with you, Clint."

"Man. She's half your age," Clint said, chuckling and taking a drink of his beer.

"Really? I didn't notice. Thank you so much for pointing that out."

"You're right, I'm sure her hacking skills are the stuff dreams are made of."

"She saved my life, Clint," he said. "Risked everything. Hand had written me off, I had no idea where Fury was during all of this. Skye never gave up, she got the team and pulled me out of there. And somehow, she keeps saving my life, a little piece at a time."

"There is a word for that," Clint said. "Domesticated."

"Being Director, _that_ has me feeling strapped down. It's not _her_ , rest assured."

"You were always Fury's favorite son," Clint said. "The boy who would be king."

Coulson let that jab roll off him and pressed onward.

"Do the others know I'm alive?"

"Just Tasha, right now. I think. But, you know Tony, he has his ways. Well, okay, Banner, too. He's pretty sharp. And Thor, they have, like Asgardian seers and so, yeah. Pretty much everyone but Steve, probably."

"So, you and Tasha then. That's what I'm going with for now."

"That guy Triplett, he's not bad. I mean, I could tell he was ex-SHIELD in about five seconds, but Tasha and I were assigned to watch the recruits, and he was getting nosy, so I started digging. And look who I found."

"I probably should be getting back," Coulson said, finishing the beer.

"Sure," Clint said, getting up as they headed for the car. "I'm driving Lola. You owe me."

"Fine. But, not one scratch, _Hawkeye_."

"Hey, it's what I do. I have an action figure, you know."

"Congratulations. Is that your pick up line?"

Clint just stared back at him.

"Does it work?" Coulson smirked.

"Let's ask Skye and see what she thinks."

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
